- Like making an album or starting your own party, setting up a record label has long been a rung on the dance music ladder to success. In the case of the Bronx-born pair The Martinez Brothers, the inauguration of two imprints in quick succession—first Tuskegee alongside Seth Troxler and now their own Cuttin' Headz—could be an attempt to keep the fires of a show-stopping 2013 stoked and burning. But given that both labels carry such strong personal themes (the former is a "label of cultural heritage," the latter is for local talent from New York City), I think it's reasonable to suggest that they mostly just wanted to release some records and show of their artwork.
The first release on Cuttin' Headz, produced by the brothers, is a three-tracker of rolling, dance floor house that smacks of balmy evenings at DC-10. But for all its sand, sun and fun, the music on the White Isle can be notoriously generic, and the Tree Town EP falls largely into that category. The groove on the opening track, for example, is incredibly flat. "Do That Two (Yes Baby)" fares better, matching slamming kicks to a funkier bassline, but it's still little more than a passable club cut. "Ccrack," like the opener, sounds limp and even unfinished, with bland synths laid across a bumbling frame for six minutes. This EP gets Cuttin' Headz off to a shaky start, but with a debut release from Destination Void (AKA DJ Spider, Phil Moffa and Brendon Moeller) up next, there's hope things can be turned around .
TracklistA1 Tree Town
B1 Do That Two (Yes Baby)
B2 Ccrack
